Myth #1: If you don’t get on a graduate scheme during your final year, you’ve blown your chances of a good job.

Post navigation

Okay so if you’re not wearing a Christmas jumper, it’s impossible to have a good Christmas, right? Yes Christmas jumpers are great, but they’re not the only thing that makes Christmas special. The same is true for your future job – there are a multitude of alternatives to graduate schemes that will still provide a great start to a rewarding and enjoyable career.

Although a great deal of importance is placed on graduate schemes with “big” employers, these programmes are not for everyone and they actually only account for a small percentage of the total graduate roles available to students from UK universities. So what are the other alternatives out there?

Non-‘Grad Scheme’ Graduate Roles – Employers, ranging from large corporations to SMEs, are looking to recruit students and graduates to full-time roles all year round, as one of our recent blog posts attested. These positions are still exciting and challenging opportunities for graduates. Some currently being advertised on CareersLink and targeting University of Manchester students specifically include: a graduate digital marketing position with Brainless Digital; an opportunity to put together and market luxury holiday packages for Expressions Holidays; and a range of head office roles with Dixon Carphone – all of which are open to students of any degree discipline.

The Manchester Graduate Programme – Every year the University offers its graduates paid, full-time roles as part of the 12-month Manchester Graduate Programme (formerly known as MGIP). There are a huge number of roles available in various departments throughout the university, as well as even more positions with companies based in and around Manchester. The 2016 programme launches in April, so remember to keep this in mind as another option for what to do after graduation.

When one door closes, another one opens. And in the grand scheme of things, graduate schemes are a pretty small door.